Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-04-08
DAILY HERALD.
,rHR SOUTHERN BOOM UPHELD
lamar From senator L.. j. kose
10 the ArgOmaute

he one of your subscribers, ana nave no
intentions of stopping the Argonaat for
the utterance of truths, although they
NAV be unpalata BILE; but may IL not be
that vour deductions are not based on
facts. and that, when you understand
the conditions that exist in Los Angeles
county. YOU may change your views, and
NOT feel the necessity to deplore the con.
d;tion of the unfortunate farmer OF
Cook and Carol counties, lli!' As 1
now YOU wish to be just, you will, in
conse quence, be pleased to have NE give
Won facts. / am well informed in regard
to values and selling prices OF lands and
lots. for am, and have been for the last
six months, a buyer of both. To begin
With the farmer, may claim to some
knowledge, for am one. and have all
NV life known much about farming.
NJ early life and boyhood days were
nassed in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. l
hnvs often been in Cook and Carol
counties. and / am aware that for fertll.
;tv those counties rate with the best in all
the Western states. There is much
stockraising and fattening of cattle and
hogs. The production OF corn would
be perhaps sixty bushels on an average
in that locality, and fer hay, say, two
tons. Now let us see what IAN be done
in this and San Bernardino county. we
have lands here that are moist lands
moist all the year and every year, and
never recurring irrigation, aud with no
perceptible variation between one year. 8
production with another, always pro-
ducing never-varying crops year after
wear, We have thousands and thou
sands of acres of such land in parts OF
San Bernardipo and in this county, in
localities like Ell Monte, Gospel Swamp.
Los Nietcs and Santa Ana, where lOO
bushels of corn is an ordinory crop and
I4O bushel. not unusual, and it will b.
safe to claim as an average 100 bushels
to the acre. In regard to hay, the
growth of alfalfa is especially adapted
to these soils, and ten tons an acre may
be deemed an average. l have within
the last three months bought about zoo
acres in Ell Monte, half mile from Sa-
vannah depot, where We have eight
passenger trains daily from and
to Los Angeles and the East,
and only ten miles from Los Ange-
les city. This land I bought in small
pieces, from various owners, and it has
cost me LEES than 500 an acre. In this
one locality alone, Ell Monte, there are
perhaps 10, 600 acres of such land which
can now be bought for from $50 to $l55
an acre, in even SMALL tracts, of say
twenty acres. Then again we have
large districts of rich valley lands that
have not this condition of perpetual
moisture, but require more or less irri.
CATION to produce alfalfa. and, in some
wears, corn. The lands are the bottom
lands, lying along the Santa Ana, San
Gabriel, Los Angeles, and Puente r,v'
ers, and are rich sedimentary deposit,
rich in humus and mold, and produce
large crops of almost every farm pro-
ducts and fruits that can be grown in the
world, and with irrigation, with never.
varying quantity of yield, with no good
seasons or bad seasons; no dry season or
wet season, such as are the continued
varying conditions of the Eastern States
1t is true. irrigation is an expense, but
this only is more than compensated fol
by the fer,ilizing quality OF water, fol
lands that are irrigated remain fertile
forever
These lands can be bought from So
to $3.50 an acre. do not wish, how
ever, to be understood es meaning tina
all these lands can thus be bought Al
such u price, for there are localities
which may sell for four times as much
~ there are some colonies or towns scat
tered along the water courses, and also
by reason of subdivision making special
ties in raisin, orange or other fruit
growing; by prospective values as possi.
BILE centers of other towns, a higher and
possibly fictitious value may now and
then prevail; but do mean to say that
lands for farming can be bought by your
Cook and Carol county farmer, of as
good quality as any other land in this
county or the world, for $l0O an acre,
and he can have railroad facilities that
are superior to any average locality in
Illinois. So, too. in regard to schools,
churches and society. He is near an
ocean, and he can ship staple and fancy
products to any part of the world, and
have fruit of his own growing every day
in the year; he can fatten double the
number of cattle to the acre; he can rear
sheep, pigs, or horses with half the labor
and double the pleasure; he has market
which pays more for every product
that be produces. Then when you
come to climate there is no comparing.
The farmer in Illinois works all summer
to produce feed to keep his stock from
dying in winter. He has to more care
fully house stock there; in fact, he does
not house them here one dsy in the year,
except some pet or fancy article. The
Illinois summers are hot, and not unac.
companied by chills and fever and other
malarial diseases. The winters are cold,
the winds sweeping the prairies with
penetrating cold; the springs are at.
tended by slush, and roads are impassa.
BILE on account of mud. Here, he lives
in perpetual sunshine. There is scarcely
q day in the year that does not make it
enjoyment to be out of doors. The
ocean breeze tempers the summer heats,
and bring with them health, vigor and
strength. the nights are cold, and each
morning brings on awakening of perfect
rest and renewed energy, and the farmer
begins the day with sunshine in his
heart as well as on his head. He looks
out over his pasture clothed in perpetual
green, and sees his kline, in fat and lazy
contentment. chewing their cud; he sees
his lambs and colts capering and frolick.
ing with the excess of animal spirits,
begottsn by an abundance of never
varying nutritious food, and their moth
,ers with ever.watching eye nipping the
tender alfalfa.
If this be true, how can the Illinois
farmer lose by selling and buying here
OF course. il he paid 5000 an acre fol
our mesa lands and sold it for $45, there
might be some reason for your solicitude
but this your picture is one of the i'm
agination and not founded on truth,
whereas mine is the true state of facts.
1t is true we have uplands, mesa lands,
the slopes ofthe Sierra Madre mountains,
like the land about Pasadena, where
lands in small quantities of from one to
ten acres sell from $1,000, or even high
er, an acre; but these lands are not
bought for their intrinsic value, val
ne based on production, any more